Unreleased Whitney Houston Song Demo NFT Heads to Auction

Music NFT platform OneOf will auction an unreleased recording of a Whitney Houston song as a non-fungible token. The collection will also be accompanied by artwork by Dian Sinclair and rare photos from early in the singer’s career.

American singer and actress Whitney Houston will have her work commemorated as an NFT, according to media reports. The NFT collection will be created by OneOf, an “eco-conscious NFT platform built specifically for the music vertical” that is backed by legendary producer Quincy Jones.

The NFT collection will include a song recorded by Houston at the age of 17, which has never been released. It will go on sale during the Miami Art Week, which begins on Dec 1. It’s yet another musician tapping into the power of NFTs, giving fans an opportunity to hear exclusive songs that have never been released.

For those on the gold and platinum tiers, rare archival photos of Houston from her early career will also be available. The second-highest tier, Diamond, will also feature artwork by Diana Sinclair based on music videos for “The Greatest Love of All” and “I Will Always Love You.”

OneOf will release more such NFTs, and Houston’s NFT is only the first of many planned. The platform is aiming to list thousands of affordable NFTs at fixed prices to give more fans the opportunity to hold onto these valuable assets.

The platform is now accepting registrations, with the gold tier pre-sale taking place currently. The other tiers will see their sales start on Nov 30.

The arrival of such a big name to the NFT space is a huge boost for the NFT market, which needed little help to reach the mainstream, to begin with. NFTs have quickly spread to several industries, helping brands and creators tap into IP and engage with their audiences.

NFT sector attracting creators, but challenges exist

The film and music industry are among the many that are showing tremendous interest in utilizing NFTs. Musicians that have already worked with the technology include Eminem, Grimes, The Weeknd — among several others.

Quentin Tarantino, the famed director behind classics like Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, and Kill Bill, is also working with NFTs. The director announced that he would release NFTs based on scenes from Pulp Fiction, which was welcomed by movie enthusiasts.

However, that has hit a roadblock, as movie studio Miramax is now suing Tarantino over the sale of the NFT collections. The company filed a complaint on Nov 16, saying that the sale violated intellectual property rights. Such challenges are only likely to increase as NFTs become more popular.

Many creators are tapping into the technology to both raise funds and awareness, but it is likely to upset other stakeholders in the process. So far, the lawsuit against Tarantino is one of the biggest of such incidents, but that may soon be joined by many others. Not all is bad, however, as Anthony Hopkins’ next film, “Zero Contact,” will premier as an NFT.